I was real stoked to get a chance to talk to Guy Kawasaki at South by Southwest about what quality of life means to him. Ever since his 2006 post, “How to be a Mensch,” I knew I needed to interview Guy for my quality of life project.
People love Guy for his thought leadership on entrepreneurship and his sense of humor, wit and directness. But I think it’s his down-to-earth, unpretentious manner that is his secret quality in drawing such a loyal following.
Below is a link to the video. Here are my thoughts to some of the perspectives and practices Guy shared with us:
Spend time with your family
These “do not neglect the obvious” perspectives are often the most important. Guy offers us another reminder (how many do we need?) that time goes fast and we ought to consider how we are spending our time.
Do something you enjoy
I really like how Guy talks about his love for hockey and that he doesn’t feel a need to justify it or intellectualize it. He just says he loves doing it and that’s why he does it. And of course he follows through on doing what he loves doing. I’m sure he works extra early or late to deal with those two hours in the middle of the day playing hockey but he’s doing it! Do you think he regrets it?
Family time can be watching TV together
Guy talks about “24” and “The Unit” as family time. What a great and fresh take. It’s all about experiencing shared interests. Obviously Guy’s mainly about face time with his family but he makes an honest point that shared interests as a bonding experience. When my wife and I watched the first season of 24 together a few years back, we totally bonded over it ““ despite the “addiction” aspect to the show causing us to exhibit unsavory qualities such as lying to each other about whether one of us watched part of the following show. We know a couple in town here that swears by their “shared activity” of playing Wii tennis. It goes without saying that you have to have face time and nature interfacing activities in the mix; but if your family can bond over a television show, don’t miss out on that either.
